Xi Jinping

China’s Foreign Ministry announced Li’s visit earlier this week. Through remarks to media, China has said it wants the G20 Summit to succeed and called for deeper economic cooperation among the grouping’s 19 countries plus the European Union, and Indian officials have said Xi’s absence would not be the first time a head of state or government would miss such an event. 

A section of the US media said even as New Delhi was on a 24/7 domestic coverage of the upcoming summit in New Delhi, the attention Xi was grabbing both in India and overseas around the world was quite large as he was skipping it for the first time in his presidency. His absence offers a new perspective on the relationship between the two biggest countries on earth, the report said.

According to news reports, Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to represent China at the summit which will take place from September 8 to 10 in the Indian capital, reports the BBC.

As per a video footage of the conference, both the leaders could be seen engaging in a conversation while moving towards their designated seats.

He made the remarks in a congratulatory message to the decade of CPEC celebration event held in Islamabad on Monday which was also attended by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, who is currently on a three-day visit to Pakistan, reports Geo News.  Speaking about the bilateral ties, President Xi stressed that both countries will continue to improve overall planning and expand and deepen cooperation. 

Addressing a virtual SCO Summit hosted by India, Xi called for efforts to safeguard regional peace and ensure common security. He urged member states of the SCO to "follow the right direction and enhance their solidarity and mutual trust", China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The Chinese President spoke after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, during his opening address, urged upon the SCO, not to hesitate from criticising countries promoting cross border terrorism, in an oblique reference to Pakistan, which is also participating in the Summit.

But at a fundraiser in California on Tuesday night, Biden said that Xi was embarrassed over the recent tensions involving a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting the US which was shot down by an American fighter jet, the BBC reported. "The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset, in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment in it, was he didn't know it was there.

According to Xinhua news agency, the meeting took place in the afternoon at the Great Hall of the People. More details are awaited. Blinken is also the first Secretary of State to travel to China in five years, as well as the most senior official making the visit since President Joe Biden took office in early 2021.

"At present, momentous changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world. I put forward the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative to provide Chinese solutions to global challenges," Xi Jinping said.

In the message, Kim said that Beijing has "built a comprehensively well-off society" and that its "national power and international position remarkably strengthened" under Xi's "energetic" leadership, according to North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).